Cabinet Office

Clerk of the Parliaments

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: I informed the House on 1 November of David Beamish’s intention to retire from the office of Clerk of the Parliaments with effect from 15 April 2017. A recruitment process for David’s successor as Clerk of the Parliaments, as well as any vacancies arising consequentially in the posts of Clerk Assistant and Reading Clerk, has now concluded.There were six applicants, all of whom were interviewed by a board consisting of myself, the Lord Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers and Dame Janet Paraskeva, a former First Civil Service Commissioner.The unanimous recommendation of the board is that Edward Ollard should succeed David Beamish as Clerk of the Parliaments. We will have an early opportunity to pay tribute to David Beamish’s career in the House nearer to the date of his retirement.With Edward’s appointment the post of Clerk Assistant will fall vacant. The board unanimously recommended that Simon Burton should succeed Edward as Clerk Assistant. Simon’s appointment also means that the post of Reading Clerk will fall vacant. The board unanimously recommended that Jake Vaughan should succeed Simon as Reading Clerk. The Lord Speaker will move Motions to appoint both Simon and Jake to those posts at the appropriate time.